News

Environmental hotline to be launched to tackle littering

Praneeta Prakash

September 16, 2018 7:27 pm

The Environment Ministry will soon launch a hotline in an effort to tackle littering and improper waste disposal.

Permanent Secretary Joshua Wycliffe says the launch is expected to take place in two weeks’ time where Fijians will be able to call their toll free number and report on any littering.

The Ministry confirms that in the last eighteen months more than one thousand two-hundred $40 spot fines have been issued to Fijians for littering.

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Wycliffe says the staff from other ministries are also being trained to assist and address littering issue.

“What we are doing is that we have entered or are entering into agreements with other ministries where their staff for example, ministry of i-Taukei affairs , we are entering into an arrangement with them that their community officers and communities can look for these issues and straight away fine them on spot, so we training them. Now there is a process and we got to train them and then we will have to appoint them properly as per the law.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry is also in the process of taking legal action against three businesses for improper waste disposal.

Wycliffe says these businesses have been discharging waste that’s harmful to the environment.

A litter campaign has been launched by the Environment Ministry which will run for the next three months.

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